Articles Posted inWesley Chapel

There is nothing that can compare to the helplessness we feel after a hurricane. We are unable to stop or limit the outcome of these natural disasters, like Hurricane Irma headed our way. While we can all take protective measures to help reduce the amount of damage Irma might cause to our property, there are no guarantees of what could happen.

Hurricanes are totally unpredictable and can cause wind damage, water damage, destroy vehicles and homes, and leave behind massive amounts of other problems to your home or property. You could be facing a whole laundry list of issues that force you to file a claim with your insurance company, only to find that your valid claims are denied or hardly paid for by your insurance company.

An insurance company’s job is to take in as much money as possible and pay out as little as they can. Regardless of what your policy says, insurance adjusters will offer the minimum or make you a “lowball” offer when it comes to covering damage to your property. To remedy this situation, talk to our New Port Richey Hurricane Claims Attorney at Whittel & Melton regarding your options for flood damage.

The man is charged with child neglect for the incident that occurred in a Wesley Chapel Publix parking lot.

Deputies said the children–ages 6, 4, and 1–were locked in the car with the window rolled up for 15 minutes.

Deputies said the children were sweating and warm to the touch. They were not injured.

When deputies made contact with the man, he said he was only going to be in the store for a minute, so he left the kids in the vehicle.

He was arrested and booked into the Pasco County jail.

Every year, accidental deaths occur when children are left inside cars. According to reports, 735 children have died from being left in cars that overheated since 1998. Thus far for 2017, 35 children have died of heatstroke after being left inside vehicles. Last year, 39 children died of heatstroke in hot cars. All of these deaths could have been prevented. Most of these deaths are caused by lack of attention, which means that vehicular heatstroke can be a wrongful death case.

There are three primary circumstances that lead to children being left in hot cars:

The child was forgotten in the car.

The child was playing unattended inside a car without the knowledge of the caregiver.

The child was intentionally left inside the car generally while the adult ran an errand.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the July 19 death in Holiday, which could be the 19th worldwide and 13th in the U.S. blamed on the Japanese company’s faulty parts. Authorities in Florida have not yet released the cause of death.

Takata inflators can explode with too much force and blow apart a metal canister, spewing shrapnel. The defective inflators have touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, involving 42 million vehicles and 69 million inflators. More than 100 million have been recalled worldwide. All the deaths but one have occurred in Hondas. Five happened in Malaysia and one in Australia.

Authorities identified the woman as a 34-year-old who was driving a 2002 Honda Accord when a 19-year-old man turned left in front of her in a 1999 Pontiac Firebird. The Accord struck the passenger side of the Firebird, causing the driver’s airbag to inflate. Three other people in her car, including a 4-year-old girl, suffered only minor injuries according to a Highway Patrol press release. The woman’s car was equipped with the original Takata air bag. The woman died of blunt force trauma.

The Accord, like many of the Hondas in which people have died, had been recalled by the automaker, but repairs had not been made. Honda said in a statement that it mailed 21 recall notices to the owners of the Accord, including 10 to the current registered owner. The company also tried “numerous times” to reach the owners by email and telephone.

Honda and investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspected the Accord on Thursday and determined that the driver’s inflator ruptured, according to Honda.

There are about 98 million Takata inflators still on the road in the U.S., according to figures provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Takata supplied about 114 million inflators in the U.S., and only about 16 million of them have been replaced. A total of 46 million have been recalled in 34 million vehicles thus far, with more recalls to be phased in through 2020.

Millions of motor vehicles may have been manufactured with Takata airbags that contain a defective inflator and propellant device. If a collision occurs, the airbag could deploy improperly and shoot metal fragments that could injure or kill the driver and passengers, as this case shows.

“The Florida Highway Patrol is committed to making our highways safer, and we plan to do that by bolstering our forces to reduce the number and severity of crashes,” said Colonel Gene Spaulding, Director of the Florida Highway Patrol. “Troopers will take appropriate enforcement action on those drivers who put themselves and others in danger. We want everyone to have a safe traveling experience, and I encourage motorists to do their part by complying with all traffic laws, including making sure everyone in their vehicle is buckled up and drivers are not driving distracted or impaired.”

This effort is in conjunction with Florida’s Arrive Alive campaign, which applies highly visible traffic enforcement within data-driven “hot spots”. The Florida Highway Patrol, Georgia State Patrol, South Carolina Highway Patrol, Alabama State Patrol, and Tennessee Highway Patrol will also be working with local law enforcement partners to enhance education, visibility, and enforcement to help ensure the southeastern United States has the safest roadways possible. Troopers will be especially vigilant regarding seatbelt usage, speeding, impaired driving, and distracted driving violations.

Traffic safety should be a top priority for everyone traveling on Florida’s roadways. Motorists are reminded to:

Obey all speed limits

Every time you get in a vehicle, buckle up! Wearing your seatbelt reduces your risk of being injured or killed in a crash by almost 50 percent.

Do not text and drive. Texting is one of the most dangerous distractions because it requires manual, visual and cognitive ability- the same abilities that are needed to drive safely.

A traumatic car accident can disrupt your life completely – the pain, the stress, the medical bills, and not knowing what could happen to you and your family is enough to drive you crazy. This heavy burden you are hauling is not one you need to bear alone – our Pasco County Auto Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help. We can take some of that weight off your shoulders so that you can focus on what is important: your recovery.

The collision occurred around 8:45 a.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 19 just south of Hudson Avenue.

The Florida Highway Patrol said a vehicle was traveling northbound on U.S. 19 when a 46-year-old Wesley Chapel man walked into the vehicle’s path.

Troopers said the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.

FHP is still investigating.

When a vehicle hits a pedestrian, there are many questions that must be asked. Our Pasco County Auto Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melton strive to help Pasco County residents with car vs. pedestrian accidents. Every accident situation is unique and there are many factors involved. In very case, we must evaluate the conduct of the pedestrian up until the accident to determine if the driver can be legally held responsible.

As drivers, we all know that distracted driving is a serious problem. While we all know we should not give in to the many distractions out there while driving, the reality is that most of us do. Given that reality, our Pasco County Auto Accident Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton would like to spread the word that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. If we all just take a few minutes to alter our driving habits, maybe we can eliminate some of these distractions and make the roads a much safer place.

The Statistics Are Troubling

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, the following statistics outline the problem of distracted driving in the United States:

3,477 people died in car accidents in the United States in 2015 because of distracted driving.

That equates to more than 9 people every day or one person every 2.5 hours.

Distracted driving crashes injured 391,000 people in the United States in 2015 alone.

That equates to one person suffering injuries every one minute and 20 seconds, every day.

During daytime hours, approximately 542,000 people are driving and using handheld cellphones.

Distracted Driving Bad Habits

According to the American Automobile Association, or AAA, Americans spend an average of 17,600 minutes behind the wheel of a vehicle every year, which is more than 293 hours or more than 45 minutes every single day of the year. It is easy to develop bad habits when driving, such as using your cellphone, reaching for something inside the car, looking at something going on outside your window, reading something like text messages, GPS or emails, and applying makeup. The best thing you can do is identify what distractions you give in to and adjust from there. Doing so could save your life.

The crash happened around noon at Duck Slough Boulevard and Green Ridge Drive in Pasco County.

Troopers believe the 73-year-old biker was traveling northbound on Duck Slough Boulevard when he took a right curve just north of Green Ridge and lost control of his motorcycle.

The motorcycle collided with the curb, then crossed over the sidewalk and collided with a metal fence.

The man was transported to Bayonet Point Hospital where he died from his injuries.

According to the report, the man was wearing a helmet.

No biker ever wants to lose control of their bike on a turn. Riding defensively and doing your best to try and avoid any roadway hazards is a great way to prevent a loss of control accident. It is important to be extra cautious when riding in poor weather, and keep an eye out for dangerous or distracted drivers. It is always a good idea to make sure you’re familiar with your bike before hitting the open road.

The crash occurred on SR-52 east of Ehren Cutoff in Land O Lakes, Florida.

According to Troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol, a 29 year-old Spring Hill man was traveling east in a 2009 Dodge Caliber on State Road 52 to the east of Ehren Cutoff. The driver of the Dodge collided with the man’s motorcycle from behind.

FHP reports that the man was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. He was transported to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point where he died from his injuries.

Troopers do not suspect that alcohol played a role in the crash and charges are listed as pending.

When you lose a loved one, there is no amount of money that can make up for this loss. While the pain of losing someone you love in a motorcycle accident is extremely hard to come to terms with, a wrongful death attorney can help you and your family recover the full and fair compensation that you are due.

Motorcycle wrongful death accidents are usually caused by the following:

Troopers said the 50-year old was riding his bike on the north shoulder of Fivay Road in Pasco, west of Library Road when a vehicle traveling the same way, attempted to pass the man and sideswiped him. The man was pushed off the roadway and collided with a wooden bench.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, there were five high school students and the driver on the bus when a Ford Explorer collided with it on northbound US 41 and Snook Circle.

Another vehicle also was involved in the crash. One of the drivers of the other vehicles was taken to an area hospital to be checked out.

The students were released to their parents.

The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating the crash.

Fortunately, no children were harmed in this crash.

If your child was injured in a bus-related crash, our Pasco County Auto Accident Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you understand how to handle this type of claim. First and foremost, it is important to make sure your child’s injuries are cared for properly. The next step is to identify the correct party or parties who are responsible for these injuries. That is where we can help; we have the knowledge and the experience to sift through the facts, evidence, and complicated legal principles involved to work towards the best possible outcome for your family.

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.